The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is packed with secrets and hidden features, some of which are so subtle you may not even notice them until you've passed 50 hours of gameplay (like us). Star Fragments are one such element; these are precious items which fall from the night sky and can be used in some unique ways. Despite their elusive nature it's possible to farm these rare drops and therefore get some of the best gear - and we're going to show you how it's done.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild: How To Farm Star Fragments

It's possible to farm Star Fragments at a rate of about one every five to ten minutes. First off, visit any location where you're able to catch some sleep (a fire or cooking pot outside a stable is a good choice, because it's free). Sleep until morning and then manually save your game. Once you've done this, press the Home button and close the game down entirely. Open it up again, re-load your save and then sleep until night. Once you've done this, teleport to a high location - in this case, we're using Shee Vaneer Shrine on the Duelling Peaks.

Once you're up there, make sure you've got some warm clothing on as it's quite cold. You may also have to deal with some enemies as well. When you have the mountain top to yourself, look towards the east, in the direction of Hateno Tower. In-between the hours of 9PM and 12PM, you should see a shooting star drift in from the top of the screen. Watch where it lands - once it hits the ground it will emit a shaft of light.

Use your scope to pinpoint the precise location and lay a marker pin which will show up on your mini-map. Once you've done all of this, either paraglide off the top of the mountain towards the pin, or teleport to the nearest Shrine.

You can repeat this process as many times as you like; shutting down the game and restarting it appears to reset the game's internal clock, allowing you to get more Star Fragments than you would via normal play.

Are you finding this guide useful? Let us know with a comment, and don't forget to check out our other Zelda: Breath of the Wild guide content:

Zelda: Breath of the Wild: What Star Fragments Are Used For

First up is their resale value; if you're looking to raise some cash quickly then you'll be pleased to learn that they're worth 300 Rupees each.

You can also use them in cooking, but we'd advise against that - the effectiveness of the resultant dishes isn't all that great compared to the mighty Hearty Radish, and while you can sell the meals for a handsome profit, it's not really worth the fuss.

The third and final use for the Star Fragments is upgrading certain items and armour sets (mainly those gained by using amiibo) to their maximum, which you'll need to do by visiting one of the four Great Fairies in the game.

The following items can be upgraded using Star Fragments:

Ancient Greaves

Topaz Earrings

Diamond Tiara

Ruby Necklace

Sapphire Circlet

Cap of the Sky (amiibo item)

Tunic of the Sky (amiibo item)

Trousers of the Sky (amiibo item)

Cap of Time (amiibo item)

Tunic of Time (amiibo item)

Trousers of Time (amiibo item)

Cap of Twilight (amiibo item)

Tunic of Twilight (amiibo item)

Trousers of Twilight (amiibo item)

Cap of the Wild (amiibo item)

Tunic of the Wild (amiibo item)

Trousers of the Wild (amiibo item)

Cap of the Wind (amiibo item)

Tunic of the Wind (amiibo item)

Trousers of the Wind (amiibo item)

Cap of the Hero (amiibo item)

Tunic of the Hero (amiibo item)

Trousers of the Hero (amiibo item)

Star Fragments are quite a useful item to get hold of, especially if you need to raise a lot of money. It's a shame that they can't be used to enhance more items - those of you without amiibo may not see the point of collecting them - but they're worth grabbing whenever they appear.

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

I've played nearly 200 hours and only found the Coliseum the night before last despite only being just off the Great Plateau. And last night, I finally went to see Impa. I should have gone long ago. I've missed out on so much as a result.

Other than I looked towards Hyrule Castle, this is the exact same method I use. Except I wait between 21:00-02:00. I spent 8 hours alone to figure out this method myself. Very effective method, but not exactly out there in my opinion.

I'm not reading this guide as I've yet to collect one,i'd rather find out for myself. I've only made a point of going after one once and I was so close to collecting it.I had to scale a huge cliff to get it but when I made it to the top I was knocked back off the cliff by a Blue ChuChu of all things.I climbed all the way back up but just as I made it to the top the star fragment disappeared in front of my eyes.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Yeah, while wandering around and exploring are fun, I don't recommend beginning that until after the whole Hateno village quests. Once you have your final rune, that's a good time for it.

So the big question is: How do farm star fragments when NOT doing the kind of cheat-ish restart of the game? I'd much rather do in-game things. I never used my Game Genie for the original LoZ either. It's just a thing I do.

@XerBlade@Anti-Matter But it sure FEELS like real time when it's raining and you're hanging from a cliff-side mid-climb just waiting for the rain to end....

@JHDK I've had trouble tracking them down even when following these steps to a tee. Placing a marker is kind of a guessing game as well considering you sometimes can't actually aim at the ground it landed on. Just make sure you scoure the area methodically.

I've gotten a few to upgrade to 4 star on my ancient set. For rupees I'd rather farm shards of Farosh's horn. Can get 300 rupees every 2 minutes. He spawns over Lake Hylia at 5:10 am. I shoot his horn, go back fire and wait for the next morning, he spawns immediately, and keep repeating. When I'm done I go collect all the shards as they don't despawn. Just bring a bundle of wood and fire arrows or flint. Also, if you make the fire at the foot of the bridge under the arch you won't have to worry about rain keeping you from building a fire.

1) Go to Sheer Veneer Shrine on Deuling Peaks
2) Build fire; time skip to morning. You must do this first before step 3 every time.
3) Rekindle fire; time skip to night.
Wait for star to fall, go collect the Star Fragment.
4) Rinse and repeat.

This is a far more efficient method. It works without fail every single time (unless the star piece falls into water). Try it!!!

One of my biggest gripes with the game is that there was no way to craft, or have a blacksmith make, weapons for you (save for a few specific ones).
Some materials have too few uses in my opinion. It felt a little pointless to get Opals and Ambers etc. as rewards when you can't do much with them for the majority of the game.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE You did visit Hateno Ancient Tech Lab and got the Rune there though, right..?

I wondered where you got them from!! I've only found one so far, and I think it was given to me at a stable? Had no idea they fell from the sky but makes perfect sense. I'll keep my eyes on the skies now.

@EternalDragonX only Nintendo ever seem to get away with this nonsense, Epona is also locked behind amiibo so think how much you'd have to spend to be able to get all of these. The irony is of course that the BOTW amiibo actually don't give you any of these so newcomers can be ripped off a bit more, yet no review marks it down for this

Once you reach Gut Check Rock, there's no reason to ever sell any rare items. You can get a profit of over 700 rupees every 3 minutes with the Super Gut Check Challenge. Also Gourmet Meat is a great way to earn money fast if you feel like hunting. 5 of them is worth 490 rupees when cooked together. I have the most luck hunting the larger wildlife in snowy regions for that. So, just saying... Don't sell your Star Fragments. Keep them. They're pretty...

Been working through these lately... just got the jewellery and Sheik's Mask left to upgrade... there are a few things missing from this list, and it doesn't give an indication of how many you need for each... you will be at it for a while.You can also get Star Fragments from Silver Lynels as well if you're lucky... as well as from a few quests, chests, etc.

I'll be darned, worked like a charm. By far the best method I've seen yet.

The only downer is that when it lands on a hillside, it naturally starts falling when you draw near. If it lands in deep water, it will sink.

I gotta say, this trick didn't work every time, but it worked enough. I had the most luck following the instructions to the letter. Such as when you load you saved file, not even pressing A for tips. Also, it worked best for me if I perched on a cliff near the shrine they mention, drop some wood and start a fire from there. The star can fall right at 9 and that's not enough time to warp someplace and get to a high place. Good luck!

I shouldn't have looked at this because now I want all these armour sets! I feel like cracking open my hero of time Amiibo just to see the set that it might give me! This game is the best. Im gonna play it right after I've done some housework!